Chapter 27 Tasha
twenty-seven
tasha
I watched Nate's car disappear around the corner, Paige chattering away in the passenger seat about some science project, completely oblivious to the storm heading our way. My coffee had gone cold, but I stayed on the deck, trying to process what had just happened.
Sarah had called. Of course she had. The legal papers were just the opening salvo—now came the manipulation disguised as reasonable requests. And Nate, honorable to a fault, was already falling for it.
I understood why. God help me, I understood him well enough by now to see every button Sarah was pushing. The guilt about Paige not having a mother. The promise he'd made to keep the door open. The deep-seated fear that he wasn't enough.
But understanding didn't make it any less frustrating.
My phone buzzed. A text from Maria at the hospital.
Maria
You coming in today? We're already short-staffed and it's barely 8.
Day off, remember? Ask someone who doesn't have a family crisis brewing.
Maria
Everything okay?
I hesitated, then typed:
Nate's ex showed up. The one who abandoned them.
My phone immediately rang.
"Shut UP," Maria said without preamble. "After eleven years? What does she want?"
"Custody. She filed legal papers and everything."
"That bitch." Maria's outrage was immediate and complete. "She can't just—wait, can she? Legally?"
"That's what we're trying to figure out."
"What does Nate say?"
I sighed. "He wants to meet with her. Talk things out. See if she's really changed."
"Oh honey, noooo. That man's too good for his own good sometimes."
"Tell me about it. He's so worried about doing the right thing that he can't see she's playing him."
"You going with him?"
"He asked me to."
"Good. Someone needs to watch his back." Maria paused. "How's Paige?"
"She doesn't know yet. We're trying to keep things normal until we understand what we're dealing with."
"Poor baby. She adores Nate." Maria's voice softened. "You okay, Tash? This can't be easy for you either."
The question caught me off guard. Was I okay? I was angry, protective, ready to fight. But underneath that...
"I'm scared," I admitted. "Not for me. For them. They're finally happy, Maria. We're finally... building something. And this woman who threw them away wants to wreck it all because what? She's suddenly ready to be a mom?"
"Biology doesn't make you a mother," Maria said firmly. "Showing up does. Being there does. Love does. You've been more of a mother to that girl in the last few months than Sarah's been her whole life."
"Maria, I-"
"No, listen. I've watched you with her. The period emergency? The way you handled that? That's mom stuff, Tasha. That's showing up when it matters."
"Her actual mom is back now."
"Her biological mother. There's a difference.
And if she thinks she can waltz in and claim Paige like some forgotten toy, she's got another thing coming.
" Maria's protective fury was almost as strong as mine.
"You need backup? Legal advice? Someone to accidentally run her down in a dark parking lot? "
"Maria!"
"I'm just saying. We protect our own here."
After we hung up, I went inside and started cleaning.
It's what I did when I needed to think: aggressive organization of other people's spaces.
Nate's kitchen was already pretty organized, but I found things to do.
Reorganizing the spice rack. Wiping down baseboards.
Anything to keep my hands busy while my mind raced.
What was Sarah's real game here? After eleven years of silence, why now? The timing couldn't be coincidental. Right after Nate emails about us, about our relationship, she suddenly wants back in?
I thought about the woman Nate had described. “Young and drowning”, she'd said on the phone. Unable to handle motherhood. Walking away because it was too hard.
I got that, actually. The being overwhelmed part. The feeling like you weren't cut out for something everyone expected you to do naturally. But I couldn't imagine looking at Paige—tiny, perfect, trusting Paige—and choosing to leave.
My phone buzzed. Nate.
Nate
Set up a meeting for Thursday afternoon. Neutral location - coffee shop on Broad Street. You still willing to come?
Try and stop me.
Nate
Thank you. I love you.
I love you too. Even when you're being too honorable for your own good.
Nate
It's a character flaw.
It's one of the reasons I fell for you, you noble idiot.
Thursday. Two days to prepare for whatever manipulation Sarah was planning. Two days to figure out how to protect the family that had become mine without Nate realizing I was ready to go to war for them.
Because that's what this was—war. Sarah had fired the first shot with those legal papers. Now she was trying to draw Nate into negotiations, make him think this could be settled peacefully.
But I'd grown up with parents who used reasonableness as a weapon, who could make you feel guilty for having boundaries, who knew exactly how to phrase requests so saying no made you the bad guy.
I recognized the playbook, even if Nate didn't.
The front door opened, and I heard familiar footsteps. Nate was back already.
"Forget something?" I called out.
He appeared in the kitchen doorway, looking sheepish. "Yeah. You."
"I'm not a thing you can forget."
"No, but..." He crossed to me, pulling me into his arms. "I got halfway to dropping Paige off and realized I didn't kiss you goodbye properly. Felt wrong."
"You drove all the way back to kiss me goodbye?"
"Is that stupid?"
I stretched up on my toes to kiss him, slow and thorough. "No. It's perfect. You're perfect."
"Far from it."
"Perfect for me," I corrected. "Perfect for Paige. Perfect for us."
He held me tighter. "What if I mess this up? What if I make the wrong choice?"
"Then we'll figure it out together. That's what we do now, remember? Together."
"Together," he repeated, like he was still getting used to the word.
"Now go! You’ve got to drop Paige off at Zoe’s and get to work before Sophia writes you up for being late."
"She won't. She likes you too much to punish me."
"Don't test that theory."
After he left—with another kiss that made me consider calling in sick myself—I finished my angry cleaning and tried to prepare myself for Thursday.
Sarah thought she was dealing with the same Nate she'd left eleven years ago. Overwhelmed, alone, grateful for any scrap of help or approval.
She was about to learn how much had changed.
Because Nate wasn't alone anymore. He had me, and I'd learned to fight dirty from the best of them.
Game on, Sarah. Game on.